Nichols Snaps Men’s Basketball Win Streak, 91-86

BOSTON – Suffolk men's basketball saw its seven-game win streak come to a halt as the sharp shooting of Nichols defeated the Rams, 91-86, Tuesday night in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) as Larry E. and Michael S. Smith Court.  

THE BASICS
SCORE: Suffolk 86 | Nichols 91
RECORDS: Suffolk (8-2, 3-1 CCC) | Nichols (10-1, 3-1 CCC)   

HOW IT HAPPENED
Suffolk faced a red-hot Bison scoring machine from the get go as Nichols was hot from downtown in the first set of 20 minutes, shooting 43.8 percent from 3-point land in the first 13 minutes. Thanks to that conversion rate the visitors held onto 34-20 advantage with 6:45 remaining in the opening half.  

Keenan Robertson ignited a Suffolk comeback that turned things back into a ball game. The freshman's trey jump started an 8-2 Rams stretch that trimmed the margin down to nine, 39-30, with 3:22 to play before half time. 

After back-and-forth baskets, the Bison coupled back-to-back hoops and looked to lead by a dozen at the intermission. A foul on Aidan Sullivan's half court hail mary changed that in the Rams favor as the junior made all three freebies to cut the distance down to nine, 46-37, as the teams headed to the locker rooms.   

Matthew Alectus knocked down a triple in the first play of the second half. The basket did not foreshadow another shooting clinic from the Bison, instead, Suffolk caught up and made it a game. William Rowe and Robertson were responsible for the bulk of the Rams offensive output. The senior and freshman each had six of the blue-and-gold's 14 points that helped make it a four-point gap, 56-52, at the 14:11 minute mark.  

Over the next few minutes, for every hoop Suffolk put in the Bison had a response to rebuild a nine-point edge. The Rams did not remain in that hole as they scored seven unanswered to pull within two, 67-65, with just under eight minutes remaining. 

For all the work the Rams did to comeback they did not grab the advantage as the visitors responded to every Suffolk scoring stretch with hoops from beyond-the-arc.  

With just under three minutes to play Jaekwon Spencer knocked down another three to extend the edge back to nine. Nate Hale heated up at just the right time and buried to triples to slice matters down to three, 86-83, with 2:05 to go.  

Spencer turned on the heroics for the visitors as he hit another 3-pointer to regain a multi-possession lead for the Bison. 

Suffolk had fouls to given and gambled with pressure defense. The roll of the dice did not pay off in the long run as the Bison took care of business down the stretch to preserve the 91-86 victory.  

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

• Rowe led the way for the Rams with 20 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal. 
• Robertson was right on Rowe's heels with 19 points. The rookie was on the verge of a double-double with nine boards, two handouts and one takeaway. 
• Hale had 13 points, five caroms, one dime, one block and one steal. 
• Sullivan rounded out the Rams in double figures with a 12-point performance to go along with six rebounds, three assists and one steal. 
• Suffolk shot 43.8 percent (28-64) from the floor, 37.5 percent (9-24) from 3-point range and 91.3 percent (21-23) from the charity stripe. 
• The Rams outrebounded the Bison, 38-37. 
• Nichols nearly shot the same from the floor, 44.3 percent (31-70) as it did from the 3-point line, 41.5 percent (17-41). 
• The Bison saw two players with 20-plus points in Alectus (20) and Spencer (22). 

NOTEWORTHY

• Rowe registered a season-high 20 points. 
• Robertson logged a career-high 19 points 
• Devin Dzikas notched a personal-best nine points behind a 3-for-3 effort from downtown.  

POST-GAME PIC
 

WHAT'S NEXT?
Suffolk takes its first road trip of 2022 Thursday, Jan. 6 when it visits Gordon for a 7:30 p.m. CCC clash.